Seven Palestinian civilians killed and 18 injured by Israeli
forces within 48 hours: International community called upon to establish Criminal
court or tribunal to prosecute perpetrators of War crimes.

4 March 2001

Three more Palestinian civilians were killed last night,
including one woman, and 5 injured (3 under the age of 18, including a 10
year old). These willful killings and willfully caused injuries are a result
of the policy of escalating violence and excessive force used by Israeli forces
against Palestinians, at the instigation of, and resulting from threats made
by, Israeli army commanders and political leaders against the Palestinian
people. The Palestinian civilians killed were : Š Baher Shafik Mahmoud Oda,
18 years old, Hawara Village; Š Ahmed Hasan Hahmed Alen, 18 years old, Kariot
Village, in Nablus region; Š Ida Daoud Musa, 43 year old woman of El Berih.
These killings has raised the number of those killed within the last 48 hours
to 7, including amongst them two children. 18 have now been injured, including
8 under the age of 18 years old (the youngest being 6 years old). None of
the Israeli soldiers or settlers involved in these deliberate killings or
willfully caused injuries have been investigated or are being prosecuted.
According to LAW’s documentation, at 8.30 p.m. last night inhabitants of Hawara
village saw unusual cars with Israeli number plates in their village. Some
of the Palestinian youths from the village tried to block their route and
threw stones at the cars. The occupants of the Israeli cars were Israeli soldiers
disguised as Palestinians: otherwise known as “el Mustaribeen”. The Israeli
forces fired heavily upon the Palestinian youths. As a result of the excessive
and disproportionate force used by the Israeli forces: one of the Palestinian
youths, Baher Shafik Mahmoud Oda, was killed. He was killed by three bullets
of live ammunition. He was shot once in the stomach, once in the leg, and
once in the back. In the same incident three other men were injured, whose
names are: Š Morad Lafi Hasan, 20 years old, severely injured; Š Akram Ali
Terwari, 17 years old, shot by live ammunition in the shoulder; Š Suleiman
Abraham Ouda, 16 years old, injured. At 8.30pm on 3 March 2001, a settler
from Gilo settlement deliberately fired at Ahmed Hasan Hahmed Alen, 18 years
old from Kariot, whilst he was driving his car on his way back from Ramallah,
where he works, to his village. He was shot with live ammunition in the head
and died immediately. There were no clashes or demonstrations taking place
and no firing by Palestinians against the settlement, when Ahmed was murdered
by the settler. At 7.30 pm last night, Israeli occupying forces in the Israeli
settlement of Basgot, situated in el Tawila Mountain, attacked the Friends
School, in El Bira using heavy weaponry. Ida Daoud Musa, a resident of El
Bira, was walking on the street and was passing Friends school with her son
and daughter, when she was hit with a 5 mm live ammunition bullet. The bullet
entered her chest, damaging her internal organs before it settled in her upper
right leg. Her daughter, Nadil Musa, 12 years old, was hit by shrapnel in
her left arm. Another woman was also injured with shrapnel in her left arm
in the same incident: Wafee Ahmed Muhammed Karan, 42 years old. No clashes
or demonstrations were taking place at the time and there was no shooting
from Palestinians at the Basgot settlement when the Israeli forces attacked
the school. LAW condemns these increasing acts of violence, willful killings
and willfully caused great suffering and serious injury by the Israeli forces
against Palestinian civilians. LAW also condemns the threats being made by
the Israeli political leaders and military commanders. LAW asks the International
Community to immediately act to stop these grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva
Convention, amounting to war crimes that are being perpetrated against Palestinian
civilians. It asks the International Community to establish a Criminal Court
or Tribunal to bring the perpetrators of these war crimes to account, and
to take positive measures to protect the Palestinian people.